Professor Peter White

MrMagoo

MrMagoo

Senior Member (Voting Rights)
Hi all

I was reviewing some ME history and PACE trial stuff last year when it suddenly hit me -That Peter White was the Peter White I saw at Bart’s in 2007.
I had mild ME at that time and was still working. He diagnosed me with Fibromyalgia. He asked a really leading question - which is worse, pain or fatigue? I said pain as I’d recently had to stop ibuprofen after a stomach bleed and was in a lot of pain taking paracetamol.
I had the non-specific cold/sore throat, bad sleep and PEM.

Reading back, there’s also such a lot about my family history, even at the time I thought it odd - he even recorded how my mother gave birth to me. That’s Psychiatrists for you, I suppose! He also moderated some of my family history so that no same-sex relationships could be identified (not at my request!).


Anyway, I now wonder whether he chose to categorise some of us as Fibromyalgia- knowing the treatment is gentle exercise, which he of course thinks is the way to prevent malingering?

have any of you out there had the pleasure of meeting himself or being assessed by him?
 
With the Oxford criteria for CFS that Peter White likes, fatigue must be the main symptom

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Oxford 1991 criteria
The Oxford criteria were published in 1991[11] and include both CFS of unknown etiology and a subtype of CFS called post-infectious fatigue syndrome (PIFS), which "either follows an infection or is associated with a current infection." The Oxford criteria defines CFS as follows:

Fatigue must be the main symptom
There must be a definite onset
The fatigue must be debilitating
The fatigue must have lasted for 6 months or longer, and be present at least 50% of the time
Other symptoms are possible, such as muscle pain, mood problems, or sleep disturbance
Conditions known to cause severe fatigue and some mental conditions exclude a diagnosis.
Post-infectious fatigue syndrome also requires evidence of a prior infection.[11]
Click to expand...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinical_descriptions_of_chronic_fatigue_syndrome#Oxford_1991_criteria
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I don't think that's right.


In his CFS/ME service, they even turn downed referrals if pain was the primary problem:

There were 67 (35%) reasons in referrals that were declined due to likely alternative medical diagnoses. The majority of these were due to chronic pain being the primary problem (32, 16%).
Click to expand...

Alternative Diagnoses to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in Referrals to a Specialist Service: Service Evaluation Survey
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1258/shorts.2011.011127
 
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Merged posts
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Not sure where post it but seems like it can fit here:
Peter White has claimed the evidence shows people with ME/CFS were less active than the general population before becoming ill (I don’t find this convincing based on the evidence but he has claimed it)
but
he has also said people with ME/CFS can’t expect to go back to the life they had before the illness as they were too busy/active.

These appear to be in opposite directions/not consistent positions.

The former position allows him to claim people are recovered when the people themselves don’t see themselves as recovered. The Barts service website used to have ridiculous claims like 1/4 recover and another 1/2 significantly improve.
 
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ME/CFS Science Blog said:
Did White say this? Thought this mainly came from the CBT psychiatrists like Sharpe and Van Houdenhove.
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I can't remember what he has said on this in papers but this is from somebody who attended his clinic:
"What do you class as recovery?

Peter White would say I'm a success story.

I would like to know what level other people are at whom he classes as having
recovered.

To me if I'm recovered, I'm able to come off benefits, work full time, do my
house work and have a life.

But when I said this he asked me: "Do you want to go back to the life that
gave you ME?"

That's a cop out.

I disagree with his definition of recovery.

If you've improved significantly, to him that is recovery.

I don't believe in what they say 100%.

I believe you get ME and you just have to overdo it and the symptoms come
back.

I can manage to a certain extent but part of it you can't control.

I know if I do too much I feel worse but according to them I bring this on by
expecting to feel worse.

According to them this is not founded and irrational.

My belief system is holding me back.

They do not believe in any physical basis for the illness like a virus.

At the end of the day it's all very well to talk about attitude but I have a
real illness which is more deep rooted.

I take what I need and don't give myself a hard time.

I don't blame myself.

Last time I saw Dr White I could tell he still thought it was partly to do
with me.

He said,'Do you think it's down to you?' On my report he has written:
"[name] is making good progress. [Name]'s only remaining barriers are [name]'s
illness beliefs"
Click to expand...

PDW patient complains about his defn of recovery.png
 
And he was recommending a drug whose name he couldn't even be bothered to get right.

I've found promethazine helpful when having runs of nausea and vomiting, but it knocks you out. If you take it at night the effects can carry on into the next day; it's useful for ongoing sickness because it's long acting.

As well as fatigue it can cause dizziness, muscle aches and dystonia-like cramps. So pretty much exactly what you don't want for general ME/CFS symptoms.
 
Dolphin said:
I can't remember what he has said on this in papers but this is from somebody who attended his clinic:


View attachment 29476
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plain gaslighting and from that I can't imagine they are deluded enough not to realise but just not care for those people. It's just hysterical woman misogyny - stop whining, whatever you say I'm not going to change my mind that somehow its in your head, and no I've never looked and don't intend to see whether there is anything wrong because I don't care and don't like you. I've heard enough of this from people with no medical qualifications and can't see how this person is any different when they say the same just with more dodgy fibs to weaponise (which to me using mental health inaccurately as a weapon shouldn't allow you to still be allowed to use or mention mental health, it should be a privilege only for the grown up and responsible who don#t have discrimination issues they can't separate out)/
 
ME/CFS Science Blog said:
Did White say this? Thought this mainly came from the CBT psychiatrists like Sharpe and Van Houdenhove.
Click to expand...
The Royal College of Psychiatrists published a book in 2007 called The Mind: A User's Guide. It contains a chapter on CFS by Peter White.
This is his concluding paragraph:

"It's easy to feel that you will not be 'really' better until you are back to doing what you used to do. However, for some people, this will mean going back to what made them ill in the first place. In some cases, CFS can actually be helpful in the long run - people see how out of balance and stressful their previous life was. They can then change those parts of their life that have been unhelpful." (Bantam Press, p. 305)
 
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